With the World Cup on in the background, I just read of the passing of Manute Bol. You can read an obituary, here. I don’t know much about Bol beyond the basketball court but it seems after his career in the NBA ended his real work began. Hailing from Sudan, he did lots of work to bring peace to the region torn apart in horrendous armed conflict.

I wonder where this type of hero is? With the world’s attention on the pitch in South Africa are there players who are planning on making the world better when their professional career comes to an end? I hear lots of people around me idealizing hockey stars, I do live in Canada after all. Are there organizations they support that go beyond the rink? How about in addition to listing stats relevant to the game we could also learn about the work people are doing so that we can idolize the talents not just in the professional sporting arena?

I don’t mind when professional athletes have flaws, they are human after all. I do not condone their behavior when they do things that are illegal or are things we do not want our children to know about. What about the player who makes the most assists and doesn’t score all the goals or points?